


Strangers Have to Stick Together

by Savay



Category: Sense8 (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 03:25:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11728497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Savay/pseuds/Savay
Summary: Finally, after she feels like she may be stuck having to choose between living with Rajan or her family’s disappointed faces, she opens the envelope postmarked from the United States.  Inside it she finds a thick packet of paper, the first of which starts with, “Miss Kala Dandekar, we are very pleased to accept you into Elizabeth Hamilton University.” She can’t read the rest through the tears of relief that begin streaming down her face.(Written for a "Kalagang college au" prompt I received on Tumblr.)





	Strangers Have to Stick Together

**Author's Note:**

> I think I was able to find all the mistakes, but if there are any left apologies. I will try to read through this again soon to triple check, because typos are always more obvious once you've posted. XD
> 
> Anyway, this is the long as hell college AU I never planned on writing. I hope you enjoy.

When Kala had been deciding where she wanted to go to university, she hadn’t initially wanted to leave the country.  She loves her family, and studying right there in Bombay was good enough for her. But her father encouraged her to broaden her horizons and at least apply to colleges abroad – after all, there were many great biochemistry programs overseas that could offer her a variety of career opportunities.  After sending off the applications, Kala hadn’t thought too much about it.  It would be months before she heard back, so she figured there was no point in speculating.

But then Rajan Rasal comes into her life.  He is handsome, only a few years older, and most importantly rich.  When he begins courting her, Kala’s family is thrilled. Rajan is smart and kind, and with her family’s happiness in mind she decides to give him a chance.  It’s nice enough – not passionate or overwhelming like in the films she loves, but she figures life can’t always be like the movies. And she does have fun with him. They have things in common, like their love for chemistry, and sometimes they just talk for a while.  Kala isn’t in love with Rajan, but she likes him enough that she doesn’t find herself wanting to break up with him.

That is, until he proposes. Rajan comes to her house one night, toward the end of the school year, and asks her parents for her hand in marriage once she graduates.  He says of course he would still want her to study, that she can go to school locally and pursue her career, that he would never dream of taking that from her. Kala can see the joy in her parents’ faces, the look of expectation in Rajan’s eyes, and she panics.  Barely managing to say, “I need time to think,” she runs to her room so she can freak out in peace.

Once in her bedroom, Kala lets the panic flood through her.  Her family wants her so badly to do this, but this is nothing she has planned for herself.  As she paces back and forth across the room, her eyes fall on a stack of letters she hadn’t seen before.  (In the back of her mind, she remembers her mother saying something about dropping mail off in her room earlier that day, but that had been before Rajan arrived and everything before that moment kind of feels like a blur right now.) Shakily, Kala picks up the envelopes and sits on her bed.

Each of them has a different kind of postmark on it.  As she examines them, she realizes these must be letters from the universities that she applied to several months before.  Not knowing what else to do with herself in that moment, she starts feverishly tearing each envelope open, not even reading one letter before moving on to the next.  Soon, she’s surrounded by the open mail.  Tentatively, she begins to let herself finally read the letters.  (Kala tries not to think about what she will do if she was only accepted to local universities, what that will mean for her future now.)  It’s a healthy mix of acceptances and denials, but the acceptances are mostly from India and the denials are mostly out of the country.  Kala feels her heart sink a bit more with each international postmark that holds a rejection.  But finally, after she feels like she may be stuck having to choose between living with Rajan or her family’s disappointed faces, she opens the envelope postmarked from the United States.  Inside it she finds a thick packet of paper, the first of which starts with, “Miss Kala Dandekar, we are very pleased to accept you into Elizabeth Hamilton University.” She can’t read the rest through the tears of relief that begin streaming down her face.

—

Later that night, Kala talks with her parents.  She doesn’t outright say she doesn’t want to marry Rajan (she doesn’t know if she could handle their crestfallen faces if she did), but she tells them about the acceptance from an American university.  Kala reminds her father of all the opportunities he had spoken of when he convinced her to apply, reminds her mother of how important this could be for her career.  After some discussion they agree that if nothing else, she is too young to get married yet.  (Her mother had been younger, but she understands that times have changed.)

Kala doesn’t end up breaking off her relationship with Rajan, but her parents do tell him that they cannot accept the proposal until she is older.  For his part, Rajan is as sweet as ever.  He nods in acceptance and smiles, saying he is more than willing to wait. Their chaste courtship continues through the next few months, even as Kala makes preparations to leave the country.

As August rolls around, both her parents and Rajan offer to fly with her to help her get settled, but she politely declines.  Kala already feels guilty enough about how expensive her own plane ticket is, she wouldn’t want to put them out any further.  (That, and this is something she wants to do on her own.  But she doesn’t want to hurt any of them by saying that.)

So that’s how, after a very long flight, Kala finds herself alone as she gets out of a taxi and arrives at her university.  After fighting her way through the massive crowd of other first-year students, Kala is finally given her dorm assignment and room key.  She’s been assigned to the building for international students, and she finds herself feeling a bit relieved.  At least she won’t be the only one who is new to everything.

When she gets to her room on the second floor, Kala she notices two things.  One, that she is the first to arrive and two, she seems to have been assigned to a triple room.  The other two girls are already there.  One of them is pale, her hair bleached entirely blonde except for one streak of electric blue.  She introduces herself as Riley Gunnarsdóttir, but says Kala can call her “Riley Blue” if she prefers.  The other girl is thin, but even though her clothes Kala can see that her muscles are lean. Her hair is black, cropped short and framing her round face.  She introduces herself as Bak Sun, but tells Kala she doesn’t mind if people call her Sun.

They spend some time unpacking and getting to know each other, and Kala decides that even though both of these women are very different than she, she likes them.  When her stomach starts to growl, it seems only natural that she invite the other two along to see if they can find the dining hall.

In the hall of their dorm, they run into two boys.  One of them is tall and lanky, the other stockier and with a square build.  Half of their furniture is in the hallway as they try to rearrange their small two-person dorm room.  Between the two of them, they are carrying a dresser back into the room while debating which way it should face.  (Well, more accurately, the skinnier one is debating with himself where to put the dressed while the other boy mostly nods along.)  As Kala and her roommates pass, it becomes evident that the thinner boy is starting to lose his grip on the dresser.  Just as he is starting to swear and try to readjust his hold, Sun is suddenly there beside him and lifting it out of his hands.  The other boy raises his eyebrow and teases his friend in German.  The friend replies something that Kala is pretty sure translates to “fuck off,” but there’s laughter in it.  Together, the three of them move it into the room and place it where the skinny boy motions.

“Thank you,” the boy says. “I’m Felix, by the way.  This here is Wolfie.”

The other one glares at him briefly.  “Wolfgang,” he corrects.

Sun raises her eyebrow while Riley asks, “Really?”

He nods, and Felix laughs heartily.  “I know. I couldn’t believe it either when I found out, but it’s true.”

Riley laughs as well, and Sun smiles softly.  Kala looks to Wolfgang to see whether or not he minds them joking at his expense, only to find that he is looking directly at her.  His gaze is intense, fierce blue eyes locking with her warm brown ones. Kala’s not sure exactly how to describe what she feels in that moment – it’s like lightning down her spine, sticking her to the spot so she can’t look away from him.  (It’s nothing, nothing like when she looks at Rajan.  She tries not to think about that.)

The others continue to talk, getting acquainted and not really noticing that Kala and Wolfgang are lost in each other until Felix says, “Sound good, Wolfie?”

“What?” Wolfgang asks, blinking and looking at his friend.

“If they come with us to that party on Friday?” Felix elaborates, a look of amusement on his face. (Kala wonders if this is just normal for Wolfgang.  If he stares at people and gets lost in them all the time.  But she has no way of knowing, and finds herself wondering why she even cares.)

“Oh, sure,” Wolfgang agrees with a nod.

“How do you guys already know about a party?” Riley asks, mischief in her eyes.  “Aren’t you exchange students as well?”

“Ah,” Felix says, pausing a moment to think before he speaks.  (It’s the first time he has really done so, all of his other talk so far seeming very off-the-cuff.  It makes Kala curious.)  “Well, we are not American.”

The girls can see Wolfgang resisting the urge to scold Felix for such a half-assed answer.  Rather than letting his friend fumble, Wolfgang follows up with, “We moved here as permanent residents after graduating, but our school records are still in German.  So they put us here.”

“Oh?” Kala asks.  “You moved together?  What about your families?”

At this, Felix goes stiff and Wolfgang’s face hardens.  After an awkward moment, Felix just answers, “We’re all the family we need.”

Clearly sensing that this conversation is going nowhere good, Sun finally speaks up.  “We’re heading to dinner.  We will see you around,” she says, giving them all look that leaves no room for further discussion of the matter.

Wolfgang nods as Felix says, “Oh, sure.  See you ladies later.”

As Kala and her roommates leave their dorm room to find the dining hall, Kala finds herself wishing they had invited the boys along.

—

Orientation starts the next day, Thursday.  The college has all of the first year students arrive a few days before the upperclassmen so they can be get acquainted with things before classes officially start.  Kala wakes up a few hours before the first orientation event.  She’s always been an early riser, enjoying a nice shower before her family (and now her dormmates) are awake.  As it happens, she finds that Sun also seems to be a morning person. After turning off turning off her alarm, Kala rises to see Sun is already up and exercising.  (Kala thinks Sun is doing Tai Chi, but she’s not exactly an expert.)

Giving Sun a wordless smile, Kala quietly gathers her toiletries so as not to rouse Riley.  Sun smiles back before returning to her practiced movements.  Donned in her bathrobe in flip-flops, Kala makes her way to the bathroom.  She showers relatively quickly, not wanting to use up too much of the hot water, and after stopping by one of the sinks quickly to brush her teeth, she heads back to the hallway.

There, she is met with a nude Wolfgang.  “Oh!” she shouts, turning away from him instantly.

He chuckles, then wraps a towel around himself.  “I didn’t think anyone else would be awake.”

“So you just walk around naked?” Kala asks incredulously.

“You can turn around now, I’m decent,” he says in lieu of an answer.

She turns, but when seeing that his version of “decent” is just the towel slung around his hips, Kala averts her gaze.  “That is not what I would call decency,” she says with a huff.

“Then why did you look?” Wolfgang asks with a smirk.

“I did not,” Kala says, but her eyes can’t help wandering.

“Yes you did,” he replies. “You looked then and you’re looking now.”

“I’m not,” she protests weakly, now making a point of looking up at the ceiling.

Wolfgang just chuckles again.  “If you say so,” he says before walking into the men’s bathroom.

Still feeling flustered, Kala rushes back to her room.  When she gets there, she sees Riley is now awake as well.  The blonde girl is blearily checking her phone while Sun is grabbing her own shower supplies, but the both turn to look when Kala hastily enters.

“You alright?” Riley asks sleepily.

Kala nods shyly. Looking concerned, Sun asks, “What happened?”

“Nothing, nothing, I just ran into Wolfgang,” Kala says, but she can’t meet either of their eyes.

“What did he do?” Sun asks.

“No, he didn’t – he didn’t do anything to me, I swear,” she says.  (Kala knows this would be easier if she just came out and said what happened, but she already feels like she might combust from embarrassment just thinking about it.)

“Then why do you just look like you saw a ghost?” Riley asks.

Finally cracking a bit, Kala looks at Riley.  “Not a ghost. It was…he was naked,” she finally admits.

After a moment of stunned silence, both Sun and Riley burst out laughing.  “He what?” Riley asks.

“He said he didn’t think anyone was going to be awake and was walking to the shower?  I didn’t really think to ask more than that,” Kala replies, covering her face.

Sun walks over and gently pulls Kala’s hands down, then looks her directly in the eyes.  “So he did not hurt you or say anything he should not have?” she asks.  Kala shakes her head.  Sun smiles. “Then you have nothing to be upset about.  You are here to study science, yes?”

Kala nods slowly. “Biochemistry.”

Sun’s smile widens. “Just think of it as a lesson in anatomy.  The human body is nothing to be ashamed of.”  Kala takes a deep breath to steady herself, while Riley does her best to hold in a giggle.

—

As Kala’s luck would have it, the exchange students have all been grouped together for orientation. (She knows it makes sense, given they’ll need an introduction to the country as well as the university itself. Still, she wishes she could have at least had some time to process things before being put in a room with Wolfgang again.)  Kala sticks close to Riley and Sun, sitting with them toward the front of the room they’ve made their way into.  Compared to the other groups of students she sees through the door streaming into other rooms, she realizes that there probably aren’t that many first-year exchange students.  Her stomach drops a bit.

Kala chats with Riley, trying to keep herself from watching the door to see when Wolfgang (and likely Felix) will come through.  Sun is mostly listening to their conversation, but Kala gets the feeling Sun also knows what Kala is doing.  Neither of the boys have arrived, though, by the time an older man walks through the door and closes it behind him.  The chatter across the room dies down, as the man takes his place in the front of the room.

The man appears to be Indian, but when he speaks it is with an English accent.  “Hello.  You don’t know me yet, but I’m Dr. Maliki, head of the International Student Services Department.  We’ll likely all get acquainted at some point or another.  But in the meantime –”

He is interrupted by the door bursting open suddenly.  Through it runs a haggard looking Felix, trailed immediately by Wolfgang (whose look can only be described as affectionately frustrated).  “Sorry, sorry!  Slept through my alarm!” Felix calls, hastily making his way to the first seat he can find.  Wolfgang takes a seat next to him, just nodding at the professor in his own apology.

Dr. Maliki sighs, then nods in return.  “Adjusting to new time zones is one of the things we will be trying to help you with,” he says with a bit of a smirk.  “As I was saying, on behalf of the International Student Services Department, I would like to welcome you to Elizabeth Hamilton University.”

As he continues his introductions, Kala tries to listen attentively.  She can’t help getting the feeling that she is being watched, though. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Wolfgang is not looking ahead at all, but over toward her.  He doesn’t seem to be staring at her directly, so much as staring off into space in general, bored with what he is hearing. After a few moments, though, Wolfgang seems to notice that she is looking in his direction.  He gives her a sly grin.  Blushing, Kala turns to face Dr. Maliki more directly.

—

The rest of their first day of orientation is mostly uneventful.  They are introduced to some of the other members of the International Student Services Department, then each of them are handed thick folders emblazoned with the university’s logo.  They’re given a tour of the school, then sent on their way to read through their folders on their own time.  When Kala opens hers, she finds it is full of a wide variety of information – everything from signup packets for English for Speakers of Other Languages classes to a pamphlet on local public transportation.  When they go back to their dorm, Kala, Riley, and Sun spend a while just looking through their folders and discussing which things are actually useful.

Half of the contents of their folders are on the floor when there is a knock on the door.  “Who is it?” Riley calls.

“Felix!” comes back through the door, muffled slightly by the wood.

Kala looks quickly between her roommates – Riley is grinning, while Sun has just raised an eyebrow. Before Kala can say anything, Riley says, “Come in!”  (Kala resists the urge to glare at her new roommate.)

Just as she worried, Felix is not alone behind the door.  As always, Wolfgang is beside.  (Kala finds herself wondering what happened to make these two so close.   _Family,_ as Felix had said.  But they had made it clear it wasn’t something they wanted to talk about, and she knows she has done nothing to earn their trust.)  “To what do we owe the pleasure?” Sun asks, half-sarcastic.

“We were just wondering if you wanted to come get dinner with us.  Figure us strangers in this new land have to stick together, right?” Felix replies with a laugh.

Riley eyes him skeptically. “Didn’t you say you guys had moved here before the semester started?”

He nods.  “We did, but we’re just as new to the campus as you.”

Sun rolls her eyes and Riley laughs softly.  “Alright, I’ll bite.  Sun, Kala, you in?”

Rather than answering immediately, Sun looks to Kala.  (Kala knows Sun is silently asking if this is okay, or if she would prefer to stay behind. Kala is so grateful for it that she finds the bundle of nerves in her stomach starting to ease.)  “I could eat,” Kala says, giving Sun a reassuring smile.

Sun nods her assent and stands up, unceremoniously leaving various scattered pieces of paper around her. Taking a little more care, Kala picks up some of the papers she plans on keeping and puts them back into her folder before standing.  Riley sort of pushes the paper on her bed into a pile so she at least doesn’t knock it over, but she doesn’t bother putting anything back into her own folder. When they’re ready to go, Felix steps back to give them room to exit.  “After you, ladies.”

Stopping mid-step, Sun gives him a look.  “If you genuinely would like to foster a friendship with any of us, I recommend you start referring to us by name rather than ‘ladies’.”

There is a moment of silence in which Felix looks stunned, and then Wolfgang bursts out laughing. (Kala realizes it’s the loudest she’s ever heard him been, the look of joy on his face the most real that she has seen from him.  It makes her sad to realize, and she’s not quite sure why.)  To his credit, Felix doesn’t take long to recover.  “Fair enough,” he says with a grin.  “After you, Sun.”

Sun nods in approval, moving forward once again.  Giggling, Kala and Riley follow after, with Felix and Wolfgang bringing up the rear. As they walk, Felix’s lengthy strides catch him up to Riley and Sun, and Kala finds herself lagging behind a bit until she is walking beside Wolfgang.  When he notices, he gives her a smile.  It’s different than the ones she’s shot her before – it’s not smug.  This one is smaller, more gentle.  (Kala notices that this one reaches his eyes, and she feels her heart flutter a bit.)

“Sorry if I startled you this morning,” Wolfgang says.  The smile stays on his face, but something about the way he says it tells Kala he means it.

Looking down in embarrassment, Kala shakes her head a bit.  “It’s okay.”

He shrugs.  “I mean, I don’t mind.  But I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Kala lets out a nervous laugh.  She finds herself wishing she could be like Sun, so blasé about nudity.  (And, well, most things it seemed.)  It’s not like she had never gotten curious – she had the internet after all.  But it was one thing to see a photo in the quiet of her own room back home, another thing to see a naked man in person.  In the end, rather than acknowledging her own discomfort, Kala decides to counter with her other thoughts on the situation.  “So do you and Felix just walk around without clothes on in your room all the time?”

“Us Germans are not so uptight about nudity,” Wolfgang answers, smile turning mischievous.

“I’ve noticed,” Kala replies, laughing for real this time.  “Well for the sake of us non-Germans you are now living with, at least consider some clothes next time?”

Now Wolfgang is laughing in return.  “I’ll give it some thought.”  (Kala finds herself noticing how his eyes light up when his smile is genuine. Finds herself wanting to keep seeing that light.  She knows nothing about him, but between this mysterious past and generally stoic demeanor, Kala feels like Wolfgang doesn’t have enough light in his life.)

They walk the rest of the way to the dining hall quietly, fondly listening to Felix and Riley discuss music ahead of them.

(“Wait, you’re THE Riley Blue?”

“I don’t know if it needs a ‘the’ in front of it, but yes.  That’s me.”

“Holy shit, Wolfie! Did you know we’re going to school with a DJ legend?”)

Once the group arrives at the cafeteria, Felix looks around for a second before bounding over and standing by a large table.  “This one look okay to you guys?” he asks.

Wolfgang nods and takes a seat.  “I’ll hold it while you guys get some food.”

“Are you sure?” Kala asks immediately.  (She’s not sure why she’s so concerned, but it’s too late to take it back by the time she starts to wonder.)

He shoots her another one of his grins.  “It’s fine. I’ll just get some when you guys get back.”

“Thanks, Wolfie!” Felix calls, then starts heading toward one of the lines for food.  Figuring they can follow his lead when it comes to whether they should accept Wolfgang at his word, the girls go to find food for themselves as well.

There are a few different lines, each leading to a different kind of food selection.  After looking for a bit, Kala finds a shorter line with some vegetarian options, and she quickly moves through it.  (She’s not a vegetarian, necessarily, but she doesn’t eat beef and she’s realized that that is half the meat in the cafeteria.  The vegetarian line seems like a safe choice until she becomes more familiar with her other options.)  After she fills her plate and grabs herself a mug of tea, Kala heads back to the table.

When Kala there, she finds she is the first one to have gotten her food.  She sits across from Wolfgang and gives him a smile.  “You can go get some now, if you want,” Kala says.

Wolfgang shrugs. “I’ll go in a minute.”  He looks at her food with some interest.  “Find anything edible?”

She laughs and looks at her plate.  It’s nothing spectacular, but she figures cafeteria food could also certainly be worse. “They said this was eggplant parmesan,” Kala offers.  “I’ve never had it before, so I’m not sure if this is what it’s supposed to look like. But it smells alright.”

He gestures at her food. “Well, give it a try.  It probably won’t kill you – they can’t get your tuition money if you’re dead,” Wolfgang says with a smirk.

Kala laughs again and figures it can’t hurt, so she picks up her fork and takes a bite.  It’s not bad – a little chewier than she thinks the eggplant probably should be, but the parmesan and marinara sauce at least give it a good flavor.  She considers it, and when she swallows she decides, “Not too bad.”

“Think I should get some?” he asks.

Rather than answering directly, Kala cuts off a piece.  “You can try some, if you want,” she offers.

Wolfgang raises his eyebrows in question, and she nods to confirm she’s serious.  “Sure, why not?” he says, leaning across the table.

Holding her other hand under the fork so none of the sauce drips, Kala leans forward and brings the food to Wolfgang’s lips.  Tentatively, he takes the bite and slowly leans back as he experiences the flavors. “What do you think?” Kala asks. (She means to only be asking about the food, but she finds her palms getting clammy at how intimate the moment they just shared must have looked to anyone from the outside.)

Wolfgang licks his lips to get any stray sauce (Kala’s eyes can’t help following his tongue), then gives her one of his small, real smiles.  “I like it,” he answers, and the look in his eyes tell Kala he knows they’re not just talking about food anymore.

Of course, this is the moment Felix comes back to the table.  Oblivious to what was happening before he arrives, he loudly puts his cup and plate on the table, pulling Kala and Wolfgang out of the moment.  They both lean back in their chairs, away from each other.  “Hey, Wolfie, you haven’t gotten food yet?” Felix asks.

Standing up and pushing in his chair, Wolfgang answers, “I was just about to get up.”  He doesn’t look directly at Kala, but his hand gently brushes her shoulder as he walks past her.  The small touch sends a shiver down her spine, and after it comes a wave of guilt.

 _What am I doing?_  Kala asks herself.   _What about Rajan?_   But even as she thinks it, she knows it was never like this with him.  In just two days, Kala had felt more in her small interactions with Wolfgang than she ever had in her months with Rajan.  This only serves to make her feel guiltier, though.  She has a good man waiting for her back home in Bombay, and some random German boy is putting butterflies in her stomach?  Kala may not love Rajan, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are in a committed relationship.  She knows it would hurt him to know she was feeling this way about someone else.

Never having been good at hiding her feelings, Kala’s internal conflict comes across in her demeanor. Riley is the next to come back to the table.  When she does, she sees Kala and sits right next to her, leaning in and quietly asking, “Is everything alright?  Did Felix say something?”

Kala shakes her head, trying to bring her mind back to the here and now.  This is not the time or place to worry.  She can deal with this later.  “I’m fine,” she whispers back.

Riley gives her a look that says,  _We’ll talk more about this later_ , but for now she lets the issue go.  Soon enough, Sun and Wolfgang are back with their food as well.  When Wolfgang gets back, he shoots Kala a grin. She tries to smile back, but she knows it doesn’t look quite convincing because Wolfgang’s face quickly falls back to its usual look of neutral stoicism.  (And in spite of herself, that only makes Kala wonder about him all the more. How can someone go from so expressive one minute to completely inscrutable the next?)  The rest of the meal continues without incident, Felix and Riley carrying on most of the conversation as the rest of them listen and eat.

When they’re finished, they head back to the dorm together.  This time, Kala makes a point of trying to contribute to the main conversation, hoping the others will forget about her sudden change in mood earlier. Just like last time, Wolfgang matches her pace and walks beside her, but he doesn’t talk this time around.  As they get to the boys’ room, Felix grins and says, “Well, I guess we’ll see you bright and early tomorrow?”

“If you manage to wake up,” Sun quips in reply.

“Ouch.  Sun, you wound me,” Felix answers, but the look of amusement never leaves his face.

“See you then,” Riley agrees with her own soft smile.

Wolfgang gives Kala one last lingering look as Felix unlocks their room, then turns and enters behind his friend.  Kala sighs, and when the boys’ door closes Riley looks at her.  “Okay, we are talking about this.”

“What?” Kala says, feigning ignorance.

Sun gives Kala a look, and now it is Riley’s turn to sigh.  “We don’t have to do it here, but there is something clearly going on between the two of you.”

Kala looks down in embarrassment.  “Can we please go back to the room?” she asks quietly.  Both Riley and Sun nod, and together they walk back to their dorm room.

When Riley closes the door behind her, she starts asking questions before either Sun or Kala even have a chance to settle in.  “Okay, so what made you so upset at dinner?  What is happening with you and Wolfgang?”

Putting her face in her hands, Kala sits on her bed.  “I don’t know.  That’s the problem.”

“Why is it a problem?” Sun asks.

Kala laughs weakly. “Because I have a boyfriend?”

Riley steps toward her. “You what?  Why haven’t we heard about this guy?”

“It’s…things are complicated between us right now.”

“The distance?” Sun asks.

Kala shakes her head. “The distance is because things are complicated,” she says, knowing it doesn’t really explain anything.  She still can’t bring herself to meet their eyes, choosing to keep her head buried in her hands instead.

“Did he do something to you?” Riley asks cautiously.

Shaking her head again, Kala finds herself blinking back tears.  “No, he’s – Rajan is perfect.  He’s kind, and smart, and my parents love him.  Rajan has only ever been good to me.  And he comes from a good family.  Everyone says he’s perfect for me,” Kala finally says.  She knows she’s rambling, but she can’t help it. Now that she’s opened the flood gates, she can’t close them again.  “He wants me to marry him, and I should want to.  There is no reason not to,” she says, tears finally rolling down her cheeks.

“But you do not love him,” Sun deducts.  Taking a deep breath to try to calm down, Kala shakes her head no.

“Oh, Kala,” Riley says sadly, plopping down next to her on the bed and giving Kala a tight hug.  Sun sits on the other side of them, not joining the hug but offering her support all the same.  For a few minutes, Kala just cries into Riley’s shoulder.  She lets the sobs wrack through her body, finally done resisting the truth.  “Did you agree to marry him?” Riley asks when Kala starts to calm a bit.

“I told him I would have to think about it,” Kala replies, voice wavering.

At that, Riley pulls back a bit, looking Kala in the eyes.  “What is there to think about?”

Sun, however, understands more where Kala is coming from.  “Your family would be happy if you married this man, yes?”

Kala nods.  “I love my family.  They have given me everything – they were willing to let me study on the other side of the world so I can have a career in medicine.  I don’t want to disappoint them.  They were so excited when Rajan proposed…how could I say no?”

Both Riley and Sun take this in quietly for a few moments.  Then Sun nods, more to herself than either of them, like she’s decided something.  “It sounds like, more than anything, your parents want you to be happy.  Were they mad when you did not say yes right away?”

Slowly, Kala shakes her head.  “No…. They understood that I wanted to go to university first.”

Sun gives her a small smile. “Then I believe they will understand why you cannot marry Rajan, as well.”

Riley gives Kala a hopeful look, starting understanding what Sun is getting at.  “If they were willing to let you postpone your answer in order to study in America, I think they care more about your happiness than whether or not you marry Rajan.  There’s no guarantee for them that he’ll wait that long, but they were willing to let you come here.  If they really cared more about you marrying him, they wouldn’t have wanted you to leave.”

Kala takes a deep, steadying breath.  She realizes they’re not wrong.  Her parents could easily have changed their minds about her going to school abroad, saying it was too expensive or that they preferred she stay closer to home after all.  But they chose to let her go.  “I guess you’re right,” Kala says, giving them a watery smile.  This time, both Sun and Riley pull her into a hug together.

After a minute or two, Riley giggles and asks, “Okay, so now that that’s out of the way, what about Wolfgang?”

Sun laughs.  “I don’t even know,” Kala says with a groan. “Whatever it was, I think I may have messed that up, too.”

“What do you mean?” Riley asks.

Dejectedly, Kala tells them about her brief conversations with Wolfgang as they walked to the dining hall and when she’d sat down with her food.  She explains that neither conversation held much substance, but the way he looked at her made her feel like he was always hinting at more.  She tells them about letting him try her food (Riley just “aww”s at this), and then how the guilt had fled through her the moment he was no longer in her sight.  Kala explains that this is when Riley showed up and asked how she was doing, and that when Wolfgang saw that there was something wrong how the emotion completely fell from his face.

“What if I ruined everything with both Rajan  _and_ Wolfgang?” Kala asks, anxiety spilling into her voice.

Sun just shakes her head. “With Rajan, there is nothing to ruin. And with Wolfgang, he does not seem someone to lose interest so quickly.  He said he did not want to make you uncomfortable, yes?”  Kala nods, and Sun returns it.  “It is likely he was worried by your sudden change in demeanor. He probably did not want to make you uncomfortable again.  But since he does not know why your attitude changed, he does not know what he did to bring about your discomfort.”

Now Riley is smiling. “Exactly.  You just have to talk to him!”

“What do I tell him” Kala asked.  “That I was feeling guilty about how attracted I am to him because of my boyfriend back home in Bombay?”

Riley winces.  “You should probably take care of the boyfriend in Bombay part first.”

Kala bites her lip. She has no idea how she’s going to do this.  She wants to believe Sun and Riley, but there is a small part of her that is still terrified of her family’s reaction if she breaks things off with Rajan.   _Well, on the bright side, no matter how mad they are they’re not going to see you for months either way,_ Kala tells herself.  After a few moments she says, “Would it be too cold to do it through an email?”

Sun smirks and Riley laughs. “Normally?” Riley starts, “I would say yes.  But given the time difference, it may be kinder than setting up a time to talk just to break things off.”

So with some assistance from her roommates, Kala writes two emails.  The first is to her family, explaining to them what she plans on doing and why.  By the time she’s finished typing, Kala is almost crying again.  “I hope they don’t hate me,” she says quietly when she hits the “Send” button.

Riley puts one arm around Kala gently.  “They won’t hate you.  They may be upset at first, but they will understand in the end why you can’t marry Rajan.”

Taking a shaky breath, Kala wipes at the tears in the corner of her eyes, then get started writing her letter to Rajan.  This one is more rambling – Kala doesn’t want to leave any potential questions unanswered so that this can just be finished.  It takes her longer to write, but after running the content by her roommates (who obviously can’t actually proofread in Hindi), Kala finally sends the message off.  Stomach turning, she watches the message move from her “Outbox” to “Sent Messages” folder. There is no turning back now.

“Are you okay?” Riley asks afterward.

Rather than answering, Kala leans over and wraps her arms around Riley.  After a brief moment, Kala also reaches an arm out and pulls Sun into the hug, too.  “I think…I think I needed to do that,” she whispers into them.

Smiling, Sun lifts Kala’s head up so their eyes are meeting.  “I think you did, too.”

—

That night, Kala sleeps the best she has in a long time.  She hadn’t realized just how anxious everything with Rajan was still making her until it was done.  Now, she is here in America with no obligations or expectations except toward her schooling – just the way she had always imagined university should be (except maybe for the America part).  When she wakes up the next morning, she feels better than she can remember feeling for a long time, jetlag be damned.  Once again, Sun is already awake and doing tai chi when Kala gets up.  Giving Sun a small smile, Kala changes into her bathrobe and grabs her toiletries to go start getting ready for the day.

This morning, Wolfgang is exiting the men’s room as Kala walks down the hall toward the women’s showers. He’s clearly already washed, water still dripping off his hair and rolling down his bare chest.  (Kala notes thankfully that he at least has a towel around his waist this time.)  Doing her best not to stare, she makes a point to look him in the eyes when she says, “Good morning.”

Wolfgang stops in his tracks, clearly surprised that she has addressed him.  To his credit, though, he recovers quickly.  He shoots her a grin.  “Morning.”  Now that he’s paying attention to her, he can tell that where she is making a point of not looking.  His grin becomes a bit smug.  “I wore a towel today,” he jokes, as if she hasn’t noticed.

“Yes.  I, uh, I noticed that,” Kala replies, hoping her embarrassment isn’t obvious.  “Um, thank you,” she offers, not sure what else to say.

And whatever he had expected from her, it must not have been that.  Surprise quickly passes through Wolfgang’s eyes before his smile softens. “Like I said.  I did not want to make you uncomfortable.”

Even though him in a towel is still far more than she is used to seeing, Kala’s heart warms knowing he was thinking of her.  She wonders if maybe Sun was right about Wolfgang after all.  “I appreciate it,” she replies softly.

Wolfgang continues to look smile at her for a moment, and Kala can tell there is something more he wants to say.  But then the moment is gone, and instead of whatever it he was thinking he tells her, “Well, I’ll see you at orientation.”

Swallowing hard, Kala nods. “See you then.”

He nods back, then heads back to his room.  Once the door has closed behind him, Kala releases a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

—

The second day of orientation is uneventful.  Dr. Maliki hands out their schedules and explains some of the introductory classes that all students are expected to take.  Kala, usually attentive when it comes to academics, is finds it hard to concentrate.  Throughout the day she keeps catching Wolfgang looking at her, and she can’t heat rise to her face.  He seems to notice her embarrassment, which only makes him smirk each time he catches her looking back.  By the time their released for the day, Kala finds herself wondering what kind of impression she must have made on Dr. Maliki.  It’s something she would normally worry about, but after a moment Kala realizes she doesn’t actually care.  She is too high on the jumpy feeling in her stomach, the flush still on her cheeks, to actually mind if he noticed he wasn’t giving her full attention.

When they leave the building to head back to their dorm, Riley gives Kala a knowing smile and says, “You look happy.”

Kala covers her hands with her face.  “Am I that obvious?”

Sun chuckles.  “I am not sure I have seen a more obvious pair.”

Riley giggles, and Kala peeks out between her fingers.  “So you don’t think I ruined things with him?” Kala asks.

Pulling her in for a hug, Riley grins.  “If that’s what ruined looks like, I can’t wait to see when things are good.”  Kala buries her head in Riley’s shoulder while Sun laughs softly.

The mood light, they all walk back to their dorm together to get ready for the party that night.  Sun wears black slacks and a matching sleeveless blouse, simple and chic.  Riley goes all out, putting on a blue and yellow striped tank top, a leather skirt, and bright blue eyeshadow.  Deciding to go somewhere between the two, Kala dons a purple sequined mini-dress and natural makeup.

A little after 8 o’clock, there is a knock on their door.  “Who is it?” Riley calls as she puts her shoes on.

“Felix and Wolfie!” they hear Felix call from the other side of the door.  “You guys ready to party?”

Sun grins as Riley calls back, “Come on in!”

The door pushes open, and as promised, there stand Felix and Wolfgang.  Felix is wearing a bright blue short-sleeve button up, skinny jeans, and shiny silver shoes.  Wolfgang is in dark colors, as usual, but he’s dressed it up now.  Rather than the usual t-shirt, he is wearing a long-sleeve black button-up shirt, the first couple of buttons undone.  (Kala forces herself not to linger on that fact.)

“You all look marvelous,” Felix says with a grin, stepping into the room.  Wolfgang follows behind him, but his eyes never leave Kala. “Ready to go?” Felix asks.

Gathering their things, they leave the dorm building and start walking off campus.  “So where is this party?” Kala asks.

Wolfgang and Felix smile. “A couple of friends of ours have a place off campus.  It’s not too far, they’re going to be in school with us.”

“Have we met them?” Riley asks.

Felix shakes his head. “I don’t think so.  They’re Americans,” he replies with a laugh.

“So you’ve been here long enough to befriend some locals?” Kala asks.

Wolfgang gives Felix a concerned look before saying, “Not too long.  Just a few months.”

Nodding, Felix adds, “We moved right after we finished school.  And anyway, you’ll like these guys.”

“Do we get to know their names?” Sun asks.

Chuckling, Wolfgang answers, “Will, Nomi, and Amanita.”

“Well,” Felix says, “Technically Nomi lives on campus, but I’m pretty sure her roommate is never going to see her with Amanita this close.”  He wiggles his eyebrows for emphasis.

“So it’s Amanita and Will’s place, then?” Riley clarifies.

“Only if you look at the names on the lease,” Felix laughs.  “I’m pretty sure if you ask any of them, it’s just as much Nomi’s place as theirs.  She’s not actually from around here, but she moved over here a couple months early.”

This time, Wolfgang’s look is less cautious and more scolding.  “That’s not your story to tell,” he says.

Felix concedes.  “Not wrong.  I’ll leave that one to Nomi and Amanita.  They tell it much better, anyway.”

Soon, they group arrives at a small townhome a few blocks from campus.  It’s not much, but the lights are on and they can hear the bass pumping from where they’re standing on the sidewalk, so Kala knows they must be at the right place.  Felix leads the way and knocks loudly at the door.  Within a few moments, the door swings open wide to reveal a black woman with multicolored hair and wearing a bright red dress.  “Felix, Wolfgang!” she yells with excitement, then makes a show of looking at the rest of them.  “Oo, you brought friends!  I didn’t know you two had friends.”  She smirks.

Felix’s face contorts into one of fake shock.  “And here I thought  _we_ were friends,” he says.

The woman shakes her head, putting on her on her own fake look of sadness.  “No.  I just keep you around so we can stare at Wolfgang,” she says.  Both Wolfgang and Felix laugh at that.  “Well, don’t just stand out there.  Come in, come in!”  Once the five on the outside make their way in, the woman grins at them.  “I’m Amanita, since neither of these gentlemen have enough manners to introduce us.”

“Ah, sorry.  These are Sun, Riley, and Kala,” Felix says, motioning to each of them in turn.

“It’s great to meet you guys,” Amanita says.  “Now come on, most everyone else is already here.  Let’s get you guys some drinks.”

Kala raises her eyebrows. “Isn’t the drinking age here 21?”

Amanita laughs, but it’s not mean.  “Honey, I don’t think that’s stopped a single American teenager since that law came into place.”  Then, with a conspiratorial smirk she adds, “Plus, Nomi is a wizard with fake IDs. I’m sure she could get you one if you wanted.”

Shaking her head, Kala replies, “Oh, no thank you.”

“Suit yourself,” Felix quips.  “I had her make me one last month.  It’s never failed me.”

“My girl’s good at what she does,” Amanita says affectionately.

“So,” Wolfgang says after a moment.  “Those drinks?”

“Right!  This way,” Amanita answers and begins to lead the way from the living room to the back, where there is a small kitchen.  Here there are several types of beer and liquor, almost as many varieties of soda, and more red plastic cups than anyone could possibly need.  “Feel free to help yourselves.  First party of the year’s on us.”

Thanking her, they each grab drinks for themselves.  From there, they filter out into the party.  Felix quickly walks off to go talk to someone he knows.  After walking around with Sun and Kala for a bit, Riley finds out where the music is being played from and walks over to see if she can convince the tall dirty-blonde woman at the computer to let her have some fun.

When Sun finishes her drink, she looks to Kala.  “I’m going to go have a cigarette.  Do you want to come with me, or will you be alright?”

“You smoke?” Kala asks, rather than answering the question directly.

“We all have our vices,” Sun answers with a shrug.  “I take it you don’t, then.”

Kala shakes her head. “No, I’ve never tried.”

Sun nods.  “Good.  You shouldn’t.  But would you like to come with me?”

She thinks for a moment, but then Kala shakes her head again.  “No, I’ll be alright.  Thank you, though.”

Nodding again, Sun leaves to go to the front porch.  Kala goes to find Riley, but when she does the other girl is no longer playing music. She is instead off in a corner, deep in conversation with a boy with close-cropped brown hair.  The boy is looking at Riley with what Kala can only describe as wonder, like a breath of fresh air that he didn’t know he had been missing.  Not wanting to interrupt, Kala wanders in a different direction.

She’s feeling a bit tipsy already, but she notices her cup is almost empty, so Kala decides to head back to the kitchen.  When she enters, she finds Wolfgang pouring himself a shot.  “Oh.  Hi,” she says.

“Hello,” he replies, smiling.  Wolfgang the notices her empty cup.  “Want a drink?”

Kala looks at his shot glass.  She’s never done a shot before, but she finds herself wanting to try.  “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

Looking at the bottle of vodka in his hands, Wolfgang laughs.  “Are you sure?”

She thinks for a moment. “I’ll need something to chase it with, but yes.”

“What do you want?” he asks.

Kala looks at the selection before her.  “Um, I guess orange soda wouldn’t be too bad with vodka, right?”

Wolfgang shrugs, handing her the bottle of soda so she can pour it into her cup.  After she does, Kala sets it on a counter and looks back to him.  He grabs a shot glass and pours vodka into it, then hands that to her as well. “Ready?” Wolfgang asks.

She smiles shyly.  “I think so,” she answers.

He lifts his glass and knocks it gently against hers.  “Prost,” he says, then they both take their shots.  Wolfgang winces slightly, whereas Kala struggles to keep herself from gagging. Once she knows she’s going to keep the alcohol down, she grabs for her cup of soda and takes a large swig.  “You alright?” he asks with amusement.

Kala coughs a bit, then nods.  “Yeah. I think so,” she answers, giggling a bit.

“Was that your first shot?”

“Yes.  Why?” she asks, a bit defensive.  (She doesn’t want him to think she’s inexperienced, even though that’s exactly what she is.  It’s clear this is not Wolfgang’s first party.)

Rather than judging her, though, Wolfgang looks at her fondly.  “I’m honored.”

She giggles again. (And  _oh wow_.  How strong had the first drink been that this shot is making her laugh so easily, she wonders.  He doesn’t seem to mind, though, so Kala decides that means she shouldn’t either.) “Let’s do another!”

He chuckles. “Alright, one more, but then you’re taking a break.”

“That’s fair,” she agrees.

Wolfgang pours them another shot each, then hands Kala her glass.  “Ready for this one?”

“I did the first one, didn’t I?” she asks mischievously.

“That you did,” he says, then clinks their shot glasses together.  They throw back the alcohol, and Kala finds it goes down a bit easier this time.  Still, once it’s gone, she reaches for her soda and drinks it quickly to cool the burn in her throat.  “Alright. Break time.”

Kala nods and grins goofily at him.  (She’s aware she’s being silly, but it doesn’t bother her.  She feels loose, happy.  It occurs to her that she’s probably never had this much alcohol this quickly before.) He smiles at her again, then starts moving to leave the room.  “Wait,” she says.

Wolfgang stops instantly, turning back around.  “What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Where are you going?”

“I just figured you’d want to go find your friends, I was going to go figure out where Felix went.”

Her face falls a bit. “Oh.  Go ahead,” she says.  Kala doesn’t want to keep him if he wants to find his friend.

Wolfgang shakes his head. “Felix will be fine.  I can stay.”  He steps forward a bit, then considers.  “If that’s what you want?”

“Yes,” Kala says.

He sits down in a chair next to her.  “What about Sun and Riley?”

“Sun went to have a cigarette.  She has my number, she can text me if she wants to find me.”  Kala smiles.  “And I think Riley met someone.  I didn’t want to encroach.”

Wolfgang pauses.  “Oh, I did see her talking to Will.”  He thinks on it for a moment.  “I hadn’t considered, but it makes sense.”

“Oh?”

“Will’s a good guy.  A little uptight, though.”  Wolfgang laughs a bit.  “He could use someone like Riley to help him loosen up.”

Kala thinks about the sadness she has seen in Riley’s eyes in the mornings, when she thinks none of them are looking yet.  She hopes this Will is as good as Wolfgang says.  “You vouch for him?” she asks.

A more serious look crosses his face.  “Only son of a cop I ever would.”

She’s not sure why, but Kala trusts that that means something to him.  “Good,” she says.  ‘Riley deserves someone nice.”

“So do you,” he says. She looks at him with surprise, but there is nothing but sincerity in his eyes.

“Everyone here has been nice so far,” Kala answers.  (She’s not sure why she’s dancing around this.  She wants to just tell him.  But the way he said that makes her wonder what he means.   _You barely know this guy,_ she tells herself.   _Maybe he’s not nice.  Maybe this is his warning to you._   But Kala pushes the thought away.  So far, Wolfgang has not given her any reason to doubt him.  She has never been in the practice of assuming the worst of people, and she doesn’t intend to start now.)

Wolfgang eyes her cautiously.  “Sorry if I was a bit too nice yesterday,” he says.

“Oh god!” she says, covering her face.  “You already apologized for being naked, you don’t need to talk about it like that.”

He laughs heartily.  “That’s not what I was referring to.”

After a moment, Kala realizes he must be talking about when she started thinking about Rajan at dinner. Her mood drops a bit.  She knows she did the right thing by breaking things off with him, but there is a part of her that still feels guilty.  Kala knows it is going to hurt him, all the more because she waited until after she left the country.  Still, none of that is Wolfgang’s fault, and she feels the need to make sure he knows that.  “No, you did nothing wrong.  That was…that was something I was dealing with.”

“Was?”

“Yes.  It’s done now.”

He thinks for a moment. “Do you mind if I ask?”

Kala sighs.  “It’s complicated.”

“Try me.”

She bites her lip, debating for a moment.  But she figures if there really is something between them, she shouldn’t start it on a secret.  “There was a man at home.  In Bombay. He asked me to marry him several months ago.”  Kala sees Wolfgang’s face tense, and she is quick to continue.  “I did not say yes.  I couldn’t.  But I was too scared to say no, either.”

Concern passes through Wolfgang’s eyes.  “Did he hurt you?”

“No!  No, Rajan would never.  My family adores him, and everyone says he is perfect for me,” she says, but the old anxieties are crawling back into her voice.

He looks at her carefully. After a moment, he says.  “But you don’t love him.”

Closing her eyes, Kala nods. “I don’t love him.  What happened yesterday was me realizing that…that I couldn’t pretend to love him anymore.”

Wolfgang nods in return. “Good.  Pretending isn’t a life.”

She gives him an unsure smile, leaning forward and tentatively placing one of her hands on his. His hands are hot, and just yesterday it makes her shiver.  Wolfgang looks at her intensely.  “I don’t want to pretend anymore,” Kala whispers.

He turns his hand over in hers, so their palms are touching.  Gently, he reaches over with his other hand.  Before he touches her, though, he asks, “Is this okay?”  Slowly, she nods.  His hand reaches her hair, and she leans into his touch.  He meets her eyes.  “Are you sure?”  Licking her lips, she nods her head again.  Slowly, carefully, Wolfgang pulls her close and presses his lips to hers.


End file.
